Paul Gauguin Cruises is a cruise line that was owned by Beachcomber Croisieres Limited until 2019, when it was purchased by French company Compagnie du Ponant. Paul Gauguin Cruises operates cruises with one ship, the Paul Gauguin, to Tahiti, French Polynesia and the South Pacific.[1]

Paul Gauguin Cruises
Company typeSubsidiary of Compagnie du Ponant
IndustryTransportation
Founded1998
HeadquartersNew York, NY, United States
Area served
Tahiti, French Polynesia, South Pacific and the Mediterranean, Caribbean & Latin America.
Key people
Navin Sawhney, CEO Americas for PONANT and Paul Gauguin Cruises
ProductsCruises
ParentCompagnie du Ponant
Websitehttp://www.pgcruises.com

The cruise line is named after the 19th century painter Paul Gauguin, who spent ten years living with and painting the people and nature of the Polynesia area.

History

edit

The Paul Gauguin and Paul Gauguin Cruises had been operating under Regent Seven Seas Cruises from 1998–2010 until Pacific Beachcomber took over Paul Gauguin Cruises and its ship in January 2010. The parent company, Beachcomber Croisieres Limited, had previously acquired the cruise line in 2009.[2] On September 30, 2011 the company announced the acquisition of a second ship. The ship was christened as Tere Moana in December 2012. In June 2015, the company announced the sale of the Tere Moana, leaving the Paul Gauguin as its only ship.[3]

In 2019 the cruise line was purchased by Compagnie du Ponant.[4] In late 2019, Ponant finalised a contract with Fincantieri's VARD yards to construct two hybrid vessels scheduled for delivery in 2022. The vessels will be of the same design as Ponant's current explorer class. However, they will feature batteries to support the ships' energy requirements during port visits and while visiting environmentally sensitive locations. The ships will have a gross tonnage of 11,000 and carry 230 passengers.[5][6]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Paul Gauguin did not sail for some time but resumed operations on 18 July 2020 for local residents and on 29 July for international guests, with reduced occupancy.[7]

Destination

edit

Paul Gauguin currently sails year-round to Tahiti & Society Islands, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Fiji, Marquesas, Tonga, Tuamotus, Australia & New Zealand. [8]

Fleet

edit

Current fleet

edit
Ship Built Builder Entered service
for Paul Gaugiin
Gross Tonnage Flag Notes
Paul Gauguin 1997 Chantiers de I'Atlantique 2010–Present 19,200 tons   Bahamas

Future fleet

edit
Ship Delivery Builder Gross Tonnage Capacity Flag Notes
TBA 2022 VARD 11,000 230   Bahamas Hybrid ship. 7th ship in Ponant's Explorer Class
TBA 2022 VARD 11,000 230   Bahamas Hybrid ship. 8th ship in Ponant's Explorer Class

Previous fleet

edit
Ship Built Builder Entered service
for Paul Gaugiin
Gross Tonnage Flag Notes
Tere Moana 1998 Alstom Leroux, St. Malo, France 2012–May 2016 3,500 tons   Bahamas Sailed as Le Levant for Compagnie du Ponant until 2012.[9] The Tere Moana had its final sailing as a Paul Gauguin Cruise on May 14, 2016.

References

edit
  1. ^ "Paul Gauguin Luxury Cruise - Company Profile". Paul Gauguin Cruises. Archived from the original on October 13, 2011. Retrieved October 8, 2011.
  2. ^ "Paul Gauguin Luxury Cruise - News - News - News". Paul Gauguin Cruises. Archived from the original on December 14, 2011. Retrieved October 8, 2011.
  3. ^ "Cruise News: Latest Cruise Line & Cruise Ship News - Cruise Critic". www.cruisecritic.com.
  4. ^ Mathisen, Monty (August 8, 2019). "Ponant Purchases Paul Gauguin". www.cruiseindustrynews.com.
  5. ^ Staff, C. I. N. (November 20, 2019). "Ponant to Build Two New Ships for Paul Gauguin at Fincantieri". www.cruiseindustrynews.com.
  6. ^ Mathisen, Oivind (2019-12-19). "VARD Finalizes Contract for Two Explorer Class Ships for Ponant's Paul Gauguin Brand". www.cruiseindustrynews.com. Retrieved 2019-12-30.
  7. ^ "COVID-19 case on Paul Gauguin in French Polynesia". Sea Trade. 2 August 2020. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
  8. ^ Cruisemanic (10 December 2022). "Remote Tropical Islands You Can Visit on the m/s Paul Gauguin Cruise Ship". Cruise Panorama.
  9. ^ "Paul Gauguin buys Le Levant, to branch out from South Pacific". Cruise-community.com. September 30, 2011. Archived from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved October 8, 2011.
edit